Campbell, Thomas, 1777-1844

Thomas Campbell was born on July 27, 1777, in Glasgow, Scotland, to Alexander Campbell, son of the 6th and Last Lair of Kirnan, Argyll, and Margaret Campbell. He was the youngest of eleven children. He was educated at the High School of Glasgow and the University of Glasgow and won prizes for his verse writing. His poetry is remembered mostly for sentimental and martial lyrics. His most famous work is the long, didactic poem in two parts written in heroic couplets: The Pleasures of Hope (1799.) He was also part of a movement in 1825 to found the University of London for students who were excluded from Oxford or Cambridge by religious tests or lack of funds. He married Matilda Sinclair, his second cousin, and together they had two sons. One died in infancy and the other suffered mental health issues. His wife died in 1828. Thomas Campbell died at Boulogne on June 15, 1844, and was buried on July 3, 1844 at Westminster Abbey in the Poet’s Corner.